Which Eastern Carribean Itinerary is best on the Fantasy?

[jldcherry]

Looking at either a St. Maarten, San Juan, Castaway Cay Itinerary on the Fantasy, or Tortola, St. Thomas, Castaway Cay also on the Fantasy itinerary for next summer. Which do you recommend and why?

We are two adults and two elementary aged kids. We have never sailed the Caribbean as a family, but my husband has been the Bahamas and Cozumel and has ruled out any itineraries that include those stops. I do not like to snorkel, but my kids would probably enjoy it. Or should we just skip the Caribbean and go to Hawaii instead???

 

[lklgoodman]

We've been to all of those islands and thought they were all great. The Fantasy always goes to Tortolla and St Thomas. I would choose St Maarten and San Juan because Disney doesn't go to either of them very often. I also felt like there were more variety of excursions for San Juan and St. Maarten. We went to all of them before covid, though so not sure what excursions are still available. Old San Juan and the forts are great. We also went to a great beach in San Juan. My dd was 10 yrs old and loved it. If you decide to go on another cruise sometime, you could then go to St. Thomas and Tortolla.(The Fantasy has been going there every other week for years)

 

[holula]

San Juan is my favourite Eastern stop (I haven’t been to St Maarten, I did the Eastern way back when it was SJ & St Thomas and recently did Tortola & St Thomas.) Love Old San Juan.

 

[tvguy]

We've been to all of those islands and thought they were all great. The Fantasy always goes to Tortolla and St Thomas. I would choose St Maarten and San Juan because Disney doesn't go to either of them very often. I also felt like there were more variety of excursions for San Juan and St. Maarten. We went to all of them before covid, though so not sure what excursions are still available. Old San Juan and the forts are great. We also went to a great beach in San Juan. My dd was 10 yrs old and loved it. If you decide to go on another cruise sometime, you could then go to St. Thomas and Tortolla.(The Fantasy has been going there every other week for years)

Interesting. I clearly am out of the loop. They used to do Eastern routes every other week out of Orlando on the Magic, and it always was St. Maarten, St. Thomas and Castaway Cay. No idea they had switched to Tortolla and no clue about what there is to do there, but St. Maarten has always been a favorite, so many excursions to do there.

 

[jcarwash]

Yeah, these aren't exactly equal choices because the Tortola/St. Thomas route is currently the most common. The St. Maarten/San Juan route is less frequent so if that matches with your plans, it'll be "unusual" right now. I think you'll have a nice time on either. We prefer any of the eastern itineraries.

The nice thing about St. Thomas is the ability to visit St. John, which is wonderful.

 

[RedHead0186]

Looking at either a St. Maarten, San Juan, Castaway Cay Itinerary on the Fantasy, or Tortola, St. Thomas, Castaway Cay also on the Fantasy itinerary for next summer. Which do you recommend and why?

We are two adults and two elementary aged kids. We have never sailed the Caribbean as a family, but my husband has been the Bahamas and Cozumel and has ruled out any itineraries that include those stops. I do not like to snorkel, but my kids would probably enjoy it. Or should we just skip the Caribbean and go to Hawaii instead???

I've done the St. Thomas/Tortola itinerary, and am doing the St. Maarten/San Juan itinerary next month. I loved Torola, but wasn't a huge fan of St. Thomas. We did a fun snorkel/catamaran excursion, but the rest of St. Thomas felt very touristy. Tortola seemed more 'authentic' and had the island vibe.

We were going to do that itinerary again (I'd been, my parents hadn't), but we picked the St. Maarten/San Juan because none of us had done that. And it is a much more rare offering. Excursions right now on San Juan are a little limited, though they did release a bunch more a couple of weeks ago and may release even more as it gets closer.

 

[soniam]

Is the San Juan one a one off? Sorry for the alliteration If it is, then it might attract more platinum cruisers, which can make it more difficult for non-platinum guests to get dining reservations, tastings, and excursions. This may not be an issue for you. A lot of people on the 9 night Southern that just happened were upset about it.

 

[jldcherry]

I've done the St. Thomas/Tortola itinerary, and am doing the St. Maarten/San Juan itinerary next month. I loved Torola, but wasn't a huge fan of St. Thomas. We did a fun snorkel/catamaran excursion, but the rest of St. Thomas felt very touristy. Tortola seemed more 'authentic' and had the island vibe.

We were going to do that itinerary again (I'd been, my parents hadn't), but we picked the St. Maarten/San Juan because none of us had done that. And it is a much more rare offering. Excursions right now on San Juan are a little limited, though they did release a bunch more a couple of weeks ago and may release even more as it gets closer.

Would love hear how it goes next month!

We have sailed only once on the Wonder to Alaska. We loved it, but think the bigger ships in the Caribbean will be a very different experience. Looking at Caribbean cruises bc we could drive to port and flying was a nightmare this summer. We are more national parks/hiking people, but maybe we'll enjoy the Carribean?

 

[soniam]

Would love hear how it goes next month!

We have sailed only once on the Wonder to Alaska. We loved it, but think the bigger ships in the Caribbean will be a very different experience. Looking at Caribbean cruises bc we could drive to port and flying was a nightmare this summer. We are more national parks/hiking people, but maybe we'll enjoy the Carribean?

There are a lot of active excursions in the Caribbean. We enjoy snorkeling. There are usually hiking and nature walk excursions too. There are a lot of nature type excursions out of Cozumel. There are some nature parks near there, and there is an underwater cave excursion. We did an excursion outside of DCL in Dominica that had us repelling down into canyons next to waterfalls into water and jumping off high rocks into water. That one was probably a little more adventurous than we normally would be though. We have done ziplining as well.

 

[Cheburashka]

The nice thing about St. Thomas is the ability to visit St. John, which is wonderful.

Where do you like to go on St. John?

 

[Cheburashka]

Looking at either a St. Maarten, San Juan, Castaway Cay Itinerary on the Fantasy, or Tortola, St. Thomas, Castaway Cay also on the Fantasy itinerary for next summer. Which do you recommend and why?

We are two adults and two elementary aged kids. We have never sailed the Caribbean as a family, but my husband has been the Bahamas and Cozumel and has ruled out any itineraries that include those stops. I do not like to snorkel, but my kids would probably enjoy it. Or should we just skip the Caribbean and go to Hawaii instead???

Are they the same ship, or is one the Fantasy and one the Wonder? In the Caribbean, I would prefer the Fantasy over the Wonder because it has the AquaDuck water coaster, the Midship Detective Agency, miniature golf, Remy, etc. The ship would trump the specific itinerary for me. If they're both on the Fantasy, I'd choose St. Maarten & San Juan just because those are less common ports and I've been on the other Eastern route twice.

Hawaii is completely different from the Caribbean, so it's hard to compare the two. Which is the farther flight? For me, a Caribbean cruise requires only a 2.5 or 3 hour non-stop flight, while Hawaii requires several hours of flights and connections, so one is a much bigger investment of time and money and travel fatigue than the other. Are you talking about cruising around Hawaii? Because a land vacation is very different from a cruise. In general, I prefer Hawaii to the Caribbean, but a cruise vs. a land vacation is apples vs. oranges.

 

[jldcherry]

Are they the same ship, or is one the Fantasy and one the Wonder? In the Caribbean, I would prefer the Fantasy over the Wonder because it has the AquaDuck water coaster, the Midship Detective Agency, miniature golf, Remy, etc. The ship would trump the specific itinerary for me. If they're both on the Fantasy, I'd choose St. Maarten & San Juan just because those are less common ports and I've been on the other Eastern route twice.

Hawaii is completely different from the Caribbean, so it's hard to compare the two. Which is the farther flight? For me, a Caribbean cruise requires only a 2.5 or 3 hour non-stop flight, while Hawaii requires several hours of flights and connections, so one is a much bigger investment of time and money and travel fatigue than the other. Are you talking about cruising around Hawaii? Because a land vacation is very different from a cruise. In general, I prefer Hawaii to the Caribbean, but a cruise vs. a land vacation is apples vs. oranges.

We would do Hawaii on land and it would be a LONG flight. We had a lot of flight trouble this summer, so put the Carribean on the table. We really want to do Hawaii, but I'm not ready to risk getting stranded in an airport again anytime soon. Plus considering doing another Disney cruise before our kids lose interest in the childcare.

Both itineraries are on the Fantasy out of Port Canaveral.

 

[Cheburashka]

We would do Hawaii on land and it would be a LONG flight. We had a lot of flight trouble this summer, so put the Carribean on the table. We really want to do Hawaii, but I'm not ready to risk getting stranded in an airport again anytime soon. Plus considering doing another Disney cruise before our kids lose interest in the childcare.

Both itineraries are on the Fantasy out of Port Canaveral.

Then I'd opt for the Fantasy sailing to St. Maarten & San Juan, just because I haven't been to those ports & the Fantasy rarely goes there. Hawaii will always be there for a future trip.

 

[lklgoodman]

Interesting. I clearly am out of the loop. They used to do Eastern routes every other week out of Orlando on the Magic, and it always was St. Maarten, St. Thomas and Castaway Cay. No idea they had switched to Tortolla and no clue about what there is to do there, but St. Maarten has always been a favorite, so many excursions to do there.

We did the Magic to St Maarten, St Thomas, and CC also. It was our first Disney cruise. I don't know when they stopped doing that route every other week, but I know it's been over 5 yrs since they had it that way.

 

[DCLDVC1]

Looking at either a St. Maarten, San Juan, Castaway Cay Itinerary on the Fantasy, or Tortola, St. Thomas, Castaway Cay also on the Fantasy itinerary for next summer. Which do you recommend and why?

We are two adults and two elementary aged kids. We have never sailed the Caribbean as a family, but my husband has been the Bahamas and Cozumel and has ruled out any itineraries that include those stops. I do not like to snorkel, but my kids would probably enjoy it. Or should we just skip the Caribbean and go to Hawaii instead???

St. Thomas is gorgeous but I'd skip the Caribbean and head to Aulani.

 

[tvguy]

We would do Hawaii on land and it would be a LONG flight. We had a lot of flight trouble this summer, so put the Carribean on the table. We really want to do Hawaii, but I'm not ready to risk getting stranded in an airport again anytime soon. Plus considering doing another Disney cruise before our kids lose interest in the childcare.

Both itineraries are on the Fantasy out of Port Canaveral.

As a West Coaster, the issue you face with Hawaii is the issue we have faced for 42 years cruising out of Florida, long long flight. At least an hour longer not counting likely layovers and changes of planes on the way. Losing 3 hours on the way to Florida makes it seem even longer. I think our last cruise we left at 7 am and didn't arrive at our hotel until 11 pm. Going to Hawaii we left at 7 am and were on board our cruise ship in Honolulu having lunch by Noon.

 

[jldcherry]

St. Thomas is gorgeous but I'd skip the Caribbean and head to Aulani.

We'd probably do Hawaii summer 2024 if we do the Carribean this year. Definitely want a couple days at Aluani!

 

[jldcherry]

As a West Coaster, the issue you face with Hawaii is the issue we have faced for 42 years cruising out of Florida, long long flight. At least an hour longer not counting likely layovers and changes of planes on the way. Losing 3 hours on the way to Florida makes it seem even longer. I think our last cruise we left at 7 am and didn't arrive at our hotel until 11 pm. Going to Hawaii we left at 7 am and were on board our cruise ship in Honolulu having lunch by Noon.

The flight is definitely a factor! We were stuck for 48 hours during a layover this summer due to cancelations and delays. Kids did 24 hours in an airport and were FANTASTIC! The adults are scarred and now hesitant to fly anywhere that isn't a direct flight.

 

[ScooterScott44]

Without doing an exact count we have done like 5 eastern and I’ll cast a vote for something that would go to St. Maartin and San Juan. With kids, depending on exact age, the fort is probably a good tour option in San Juan, and the Yoda guy or Maho beach could be good on St. Maartin. Our son was pre-teen ages and enjoyed all of these.

 

[tidefan]

St. Thomas is gorgeous but I'd skip the Caribbean and head to Aulani.

I'll second this. We love Aulani! And, now that Aunty's Beach House has reopened, the kids would have the club experience as well.